All too often, accidents result in injuries for kids within Georgia daycares. It’s not hard to understand why, as kids get in accidents frequently. But in some cases, those injuries were directly caused by the negligence of the daycare or its employees. The emotional toll of having an injured child is bad enough, but the financial cost of caring for a severely injured child can be enormous.
With the potential for injury that a daycare carries each day, you might assume that every daycare would be required to maintain liability insurance. Unfortunately, that assumption would be wrong. Here are a few things you need to know to keep your family safe.
Georgia Daycares Are Not Required to Carry Insurance
It may surprise you, but Georgia law does not require a daycare to have an active liability insurance policy in order to operate. The state of Georgia has its own department for early childhood education known as the Department of Early Care and Learning. However, this agency lacks the power to require insurance in Georgia daycare facilities.
The requirements for daycares set out in Georgia law are much more lenient. According to O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-4(9), the authority of the Department of Early Care and Learning is limited to recommending formally in writing to the daycare that it is encouraged to carry a liability insurance policy. There are no consequences if a daycare facility chooses not to obtain a liability insurance policy sufficient to cover all of its clients.
Daycares Without Insurance Must Notify Parents
While they are of little comfort to the parents of a child that is hurt, the Georgia code does have some limited requirements for daycare facilities that decline to carry insurance. According to Georgia law, all daycare facilities that refuse to obtain insurance after receiving the recommendation to do so from the Department of Early Care and Learning must notify the parents whose children attend the daycare of that decision.
The daycare must give notice in two different ways. First, the daycare facility must post a written notice at the daycare in a conspicuous place. The sign must be readily visible for visitors and have letters at least ½ inches tall.
Second, the daycare facility must provide written notice to all parents by mail making them aware that there is no liability insurance policy in effect. The daycare is required to have each parent or guardian sign an acknowledgment of the lack of insurance coverage. The daycare facility must keep this written acknowledgment for as long as the child is at the daycare and for at least 12 months after the child leaves the facility. If the facility doesn’t comply with these notice requirements, they risk a fine of $1,000 per infraction.
A Georgia Injury Lawyer Can Help Obtain Compensation for Your Injured Child
If your child was injured at a Georgia daycare, it is vital that you discuss the situation with an experienced personal injury attorney. If the daycare was insured, an attorney might be able to negotiate with the carrier in an effort to settle the claim. If the daycare wasn’t insured, an attorney might be able to obtain the compensation your child deserves directly from the business. To discuss your case with an experienced Georgia injury lawyer, contact Williams Elleby Howard & Easter, at 833 – LEGALGA today.
